Anything to help tame/smooth down unruly beard?

Anything to help tame/smooth down unruly beard?

Hello guys. I am attempting my first real beard at 40. I have been watching the site for months, and doing alot of reading, and want to ask a few questions before I really go any farther.

First, my beard seems to be growing longer faster than it fills in if that makes sense. It causes a very curly, unkempt, wild look that is not very appealing.Are there any very cheap (or at home) type products that can be used to tame down the beard, and keep it under control without it looking matted down,or that will take some of the curlyness out?

Thank you very much. I look forward to getting some pictures for you all soon to evaluate how things look.

I am not sure about a full beard, but when I had my long goatee I always kept it conditioned about every three days. I also added some olive oil about once a week. I used a fine tooth comb to get good coverage. I avoided soaps because they seemed to make the facial hair dry. Brushing it with a comb, or boar bristle brush seemed to help keep it under control.

"How womanly it is for one who is a man to comb himself and shave himself
with a razor, for the sake of fine effect, and to arrange his hair at
the mirror, shave his cheeks, pluck hairs out of them, and smooth
them! ... But He adorned man
like the lions, with a beard, and endowed him as an attribute of
manhood, with a hairy chest—a sign of strength and rule." St. Clement of
Alexandria, 2.275

buffalo bison wrote:I've been using tea tree oil and it calms mine right down, as well as make it soft. A lot of people use jojoba oil.

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Isn't tea tree oil toxic, and in cases cause skin allergies?

"How womanly it is for one who is a man to comb himself and shave himself
with a razor, for the sake of fine effect, and to arrange his hair at
the mirror, shave his cheeks, pluck hairs out of them, and smooth
them! ... But He adorned man
like the lions, with a beard, and endowed him as an attribute of
manhood, with a hairy chest—a sign of strength and rule." St. Clement of
Alexandria, 2.275

What helps me is using jojoba oil every morning then putting in some shea butter leave in conditioner, which helps the frizz and keeps everything neat and soft, then brushing with a boars brush! Oh and shampoo your beard no more than twice a week!

Awesome advice thanks guys! I have never really attempted one, as being full scotch/irish it is heavy red and blonde, (now with some grey as well) and some of the lighter colors don't show up well. Not only that but the hair is extremely coarse and wiry and goes wherever it wants to go. Top that off with light patches in places, and the fact that it gets way long before it gets thick enough, made me stay away all these years. Just as an example, under my jawline area, bottom of chin, in just under a month it is nearly 2" long when stretched out, but lean/thin. My uncles all can grow big thick manly beards like something out of the lord of the rings, and me, nothing but sad.

A buddy told me to color the beard and it would make it darker, making it appear thicker, but most color is something other than my natural color, and that natural color is for some reason very hard to get I guess. It is not bright orange/red, but more deep red/auburn, with the blonde and grey mixed in. Sorry to ramble on, but I have wanted a nice beard for so long. I would love a nice thick beard that would come down 6-8 inches, that would be amazing. Want to rock me some duck dynasty beard styles!

My beard was coarse and wirey like you say yours is. I tried the conditioner and it seemed to work for about a couple hours after I would apply it then it seemed to dry out again. So I went ahead and got some jojoba oil. I wish I would have gotten it sooner. This stuff is amazing. Turned my beard into a manageable and soft beard. So my vote is for the jojoba. Use only a couple drops though. Trust me...a couple drops goes a long way.

Not having any luck getting photos to upload so far. My wife is going to take a crack at it later today, she is more tech savvy than I by far. Is the Jojoba oil available anywhere, like drug stores, pharmacies, ect? I have looked but I haven't been able to find it yet.

Jojoba is easy to find, especially in a drug store like Walgreens or Rite-Aid or Bartells. It would be in the skin care section, probably not the hair care part, in Walmart or whatever. There are other oils you can use too. Sweet Almond, Avocado, Apricot, Baby (Baby?!), Olive, straight Vitamin E ... a dab'll do ya.